By Alison Murtagh, Swimming World College Intern
While members of Team USA were making a splash in Rio, swimmers were leaving their own marks in Stanford, California during USA Swimming’s Future Championships. Night three resulted in significant time drops for athletes across the board. Katie McLaughlin of Mission Viejo Nadadores and Alex Liang of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics both won two individual events over the course of the evening.
Jessica Epps of Mission Viejo Nadadores dropped over a second from her prelims time to win the Women’s 200 Meter Butterfly in 2:16.53. Mackenzie Vargas of California Capital Aquatics clocked in right behind, in a 2:16.69. Third place went to Isabelle Henig of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics, who dropped over two seconds from this morning to touch the wall in 2:17.65.
Brooks Fail, swimming unattached, won his second event of the meet, dropping over three seconds from his morning swim to win the Men’s 200 Meter Butterfly in 2:03.30. Daichi Matsuda of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics clocked in with a second place time of 2:03.60. Close behind was Zachary Cootes of San Luis Obispo Swim Club, who came in third in 2:03.98.
In the Women’s 50 Meter Freestyle, McLaughlin was the only swimmer under the 26 second barrier (25.93). Joanna Wu placed second in a time of 26.34. Julia Wolf clocked in with a 26.48, fast enough to garner a third place.
Zander Jake Minano of Canyons Aquatic Club clenched first place in the Men’s 50 Meter Freestyle with a 23.33. Mason Tittle of Walnut Creek Aquabears placed second, finishing in 23.44. Cesar Paez of the San Diego YMCA finished third, touching the wall in 23.77.
Kristina Murphy of Spare Time Aquatics Sacramento won the Women’s 200 Meter Breaststroke in 2:35.21. She bested the field by over a second, with Whitney Jorgensen of Sierra Marlins Swim Team clocking in at 2:36.37. Third place went to Elise Roberts of Napa Valley Swim Team, who dropped almost three seconds from her prelims time to finish in 2:37.38.
In the Men’s 200 Meter Breaststroke, Maximilian Pokutta of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics won the event by over two seconds in 2:17.61. Second place went to Joshua Bottelberghe of Portland Aquatic Club, who swam a 2:19.96. Carlson Temple of the College Area Swim Team touched in with a third place time of 2:21.78.
McLaughlin had her second win of the night, placing first in the Women’s 100 Meter Backstroke in a time of 1:02.84. Elliyanna Ferrin of Bend Swim Club came in second, posting a 1:03.58. Jennifer Lathrop of the Sierra Marlins Swim Team rounded out the top three, coming in third with a time of 1:03.74.
In the Men’s 100 Meter Backstroke, Liang touched the wall first in 57.44. Second place went to Douglas Nogueria of Rose Bowl Aquatics, who finished in 57.59, out touching Joshua Hanson of Swim Club of Ridgecrest, who placed third in 57.62.
The Women’s 400 Meter Freestyle was one of the closest events of night, with less than a second separating the top three finishers. Nicole Olivia of Santa Clara Swim Club won the event in 4:19.28. Second place went to Samantha Shelton of Mission Viejo Nadadores (4:19.36), while Ryan Falk of Tualatin Hills Swim Club earned a third place (4:19.91).
Liang ended the night with another first place finish in the Men’s 400 Meter Freestyle (3:59.23). He barely edged out Fail, who placed second with a 3:59.26. Third place went to Isaac Stump, who was the only other swimmer under the four-minute barrier tonight.
All results can be found on Meet Mobile.
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